Trial for the murder of Marco Veronese: the first hearing
Date of the event:
On 9 November 2026 the first trial hearing was held for the murder of Marco Veronese, stabbed to death in Collegno on 23 October 2025. Before the Court of Assizes, investigators and Carabinieri officers reported on the content of chat messages exchanged between the defendant, Michele Nicastri, and his girlfriend in the days before the killing. Nicastri, 50, an engineer and triathlete, has admitted to killing Veronese and is charged with premeditated murder, with the aggravating circumstance of trivial and base motives; he faces a life sentence [1].
The killing
According to investigators' reconstruction, in October 2025 Nicastri had staked out Veronese's home nine times — Veronese being his girlfriend's ex-partner — before killing him. In chats with the woman he called the home “the idiots' house” and in some messages wrote “we're getting rid of him”, receiving the reply “yes love, you'll be free” [1].
Collegno's CCTV cameras recorded Nicastri arriving on via Sabotino more than an hour before Veronese and waiting hidden behind a car. When the victim arrived, parked and walked towards home, he was approached from behind and stabbed multiple times; the weapon was never found. Nicastri then fled between Bardonecchia and France for twelve days, before being stopped by the Carabinieri on his return to Turin [1].
Evidence examined at the hearing
During the hearing investigators reported finding, in the cache of one of Veronese's phones, 2,331 images, mostly from dark web sites, on which the prosecutors had ordered an expert assessment; according to the Carabinieri, Nicastri had never mentioned them to his girlfriend in their chats [1].
A handwritten will in favour of his girlfriend was found in the defendant's car, and his bank account shows payments in her favour and that of her three children before the murder. Traces of Nicastri's DNA were found on the victim's shirt, and he is reported to have paid for a private investigator hired by his girlfriend to monitor her ex. Investigators also reported that in a document the woman had noted some of Veronese's behaviour that had raised her suspicions, matters which, according to the investigation led by deputy prosecutor Mario Bendoni, are not linked to the killing [1].
The defendant's position
Nicastri, present in court assisted by lawyers Luca Calabrò and Chiara Gatto, listened to the Carabinieri's testimony. At the time of his arrest he had stated that he acted out of fear that his girlfriend would not marry him because of the problems with Veronese over the couple's children [1].
Sources
- TorinoToday — 10 November 2026